


I wish I were you

by we_do_be_writing_fics



Category: The Prom (2020), The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:22:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29445507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/we_do_be_writing_fics/pseuds/we_do_be_writing_fics
Summary: Songfic based of Android Ashley.
Relationships: Kaylee/Shelby (The Prom Musical)
Kudos: 4





	I wish I were you

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies if this is terrible, I have never written a songfic before.

_**I think you’re cute my name is Ashley and I work at the computer store** _

Shelby walked down the streets of Edgewater heading for her daily coffee before she went to begin her shift at work. Her shoulders were hunched and she had stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans to keep them warm. Her mind ran at one hundred miles an hour as usual, thinking, planning, every moment of the day ahead. **Step 1: Walk to get coffee.** The ten minute walk from her house down to the centre of Edgewater where she worked was usually a pleasant one; unfortunately mother nature had other ideas, winter was arriving early. She lifted her hands in front of her face, shielding her eyes from the dust that blew towards her in the strong winds. God knows what her hair was going to look like once she made it inside. She sighed; it was going to rain and she had forgotten to grab her coat, the first sign her day was going to be a bad one.

_**That’s what I never say to Kyle, the barrister at the coffee shop next door** _

Shelby smiled at the thought of the cute barrister who served her her coffee every morning. She didn’t like admitting that she’d fallen for Kaylee the moment she saw her but she couldn’t deny the girl was cute. She wanted to speak to her, she really did, but Shelby wasn’t the best with people. If Kaylee was a robot she’d be okay. She understood how computers worked, they were simple, problems with them were fixed by certain steps. Humans weren’t like that, problems you caused with humans weren’t all fixed the same, and weren’t always fixed, or returned back to the standard they were before you’d caused the issue. So, instead of talking, she had settled for finding a way to do something for Kaylee _without_ having to speak to her. A strong gust of wind tore through Shelby’s thin jumper, making her shiver. She hurried further along the street and ducked into the coffee shop, enjoying the warmth that enveloped her. **Step 2: Order coffee.**

_**I watch him sadly from the counter where I always pick the wobbly stall** _

She went up to the counter and ordered her usual, trying not to grin at Kaylee when she met her eyes. Sometimes, with the way Kaylee looked at her, she thought that maybe she liked her back, that scared her just as much as unrequited feelings. _If_ Kaylee liked her back, and she finally got the courage to ask her out, she would have to learn how to navigate a relationship; everything that Shelby didn’t understand, silent communication, how to tell what people are feeling, was something she would have to use when dating. It’s hard to learn those skills when you were never taught them as a child. 

“I’ll get that for you now.” Kaylee said, noting down her coffee order, smiling.

“Thank you.” Shelby said, taking her usual seat and pulling a pen out of her pocket before doodling on a napkin while she waited for her coffee. Sure, drawing on a napkin wasn’t the easiest, but she didn’t tend to carry paper on her at all times. She should probably do that. Why didn’t she do that? **Step 3: Find something better than a napkin.** The familiar sounds of the coffee shop surrounded her; the click of people typing on laptops, the buzz of the coffee machines brewing, Kaylee laughing with her co-workers. Shelby glanced up, smiling. God her laugh was beautiful- 

_**He hands me my latte, and smirks in this hot way. And I just cannot play cool** _

“Thanks.” Shelby said, blushing as Kaylee placed her coffee on the table. She quickly hid her doodle under her hands, almost knocking the coffee over. “Shit-” She muttered before noticing Kaylee still stood there. “Um… sorry-” Her blush deepened and she looked away before she held Kaylee’s gaze for too long. Damn, how did she ever make it through school without being bullied if this was her reaction to human interaction? 

“No problem, can I get you anything else?”

“Yeah. Wait, no. Shit, sorry.” Shelby said, groaning internally at her awkwardness. Kaylee just smiled, “Enjoy your drink.” Shelby nodded, checked her watch and sighed. It had taken her longer to reach the coffee shop than she had realised, she had to get to work. **Step 4: Work.**

~~~~~

Kaylee liked working in the coffee shop. She especially liked working the early shifts; she liked the crisp morning air on her face as she opened the shop, she liked watching the town of Edgewater awaken as shop windows begin to light up and the streets get busier, she liked saying hi to Shelby every morning. Shelby, the cute girl who bought coffee and sat in the same spot everyday, who didn’t stop doodling, and wouldn’t let anyone see no matter how hard Kaylee tried to catch a look. Kaylee had feelings for Shelby, she knew this much. Did she understand those feelings? Not really. She’d spoken to some of her friends about them and they’d basically screamed at her that she had a crush. Kaylee accepted that. Was she planning on acting upon her feelings? Fuck no. Shelby was a quiet girl, she seemed content sitting alone with her drawings and coffee, observing the coffee shop before leaving, presumably to go to work. Kaylee didn’t want to scare her away by asking her on a date. She wasn’t blind, she could see how nervous Shelby got when they interacted, the poor girl clearly wasn’t keen on people and Kaylee didn’t want to make her any more uncomfortable than she already seemed. So Kaylee settled for smiles and friendly hellos whenever Shelby entered, nothing more.

~~~~~

_**The clear and logical solution is to send a robot in my place** _

Shelby loved her job at the computer store. All day long she fiddled with wires and circuits, fixing everyone’s technology before handing the finished product back to her manager who informed the customer they could collect it from the store. This way she was left alone, tinkering with machines until they were fixed. If only human brains were like that. If only she herself was a robot that she could plug a few wires into and discover the problem. Shelby frowned at the phone she was working on and looked around at the mechanics in the warehouse of her store. More specifically at the shelf along the back wall. All the junk that was no longer useful for their technology was piled up ready to be thrown in the trash. But, just because the store could no longer use it, doesn’t mean Shelby couldn’t. Her face lit up at the prospect, an idea forming in her brain. **Step 5: Plan idea.** Surely there was something in all this that she could use to make a robot. 

_**A robot modelled after me except that she can deal with Kyle face to face.** _

After clearing the shelf into piles; useful, unsure and useless, Shelby smiled. She could do this. She understands how robots work. They make sense, and maybe this time they can help her make sense of the real world. A robot can help her communicate. This way she could actually talk to Kaylee without stumbling over her words and getting flustered, and maybe Kaylee would actually like her, and maybe they could at least be friends. 

~~~~~

_**Been working on her 40 weeks or so with barely time to sleep or eat** _

Shelby still ordered her morning coffee, but rushed out quickly to work on her robot. She needed to finish it, it was her way of making herself perfect for Kaylee. **Step 6: Build android.** The robot was more complicated than she had first intended, but she was working fast and she would make sure everything was perfect. In between her job and building her robot she barely did anything else. Her friends passed by the store on occasion, to invite her to lunch, all of them looking concerned when she said she was busy. She tended to visit the coffee shop for less time, but on the upside she did go in twice a day now, the caffeine helping keep her awake as she worked through the day and long into the night. But she didn’t spend time in the shop like she used to; the old sounds of the shop were almost unfamiliar now as she dashed out of the store as quickly as she’d come in. She never noticed the almost sad looks on Kaylee’s face as she hurried out of the coffee shop. 

_**Her parts are built custom. All that’s left are just some last circuits I must complete** _

Shelby cut and soldered different wires and circuits at every spare moment she got. Her robot was coming together, she was almost finished. She sipped at her coffee, careful not to spill any on the electrics. Even her drawing, a kind gesture she was doing for Kaylee, had been forsaken in favour of her android self. Shelby told herself this was the best way, the _only_ way. She convinced herself, silencing the voice in her head the second doubt crept in. 

~~~~~

Kaylee missed seeing Shelby. Well, no, she still saw Shelby, but she missed the small bits of conversation they had shared when Shelby used to sit in the coffee shop. She missed the girls awkward nature, the way she would fumble over her coffee order when she spoke as if she was asking for the first time, even though she ordered the same thing every day. She missed trying to sneak glances at her art and the small waves she would give as Shelby left the shop. Now she was concerned. Shelby looked tired, her eyes were bloodshot and there were dark bags under them every time she saw her; she definitely wasn’t sleeping well. She seemed stressed, like every second she spent in the shop was time she was wasting. That thought hurt Kaylee. But not as much as the thought of what could happen if Shelby didn’t slow down. Kaylee had been burnt out before, she had been the cheer captain in high school and hadn’t stopped until she’d gotten bad. _It’s not your place to give advice to a virtual stranger_. She told herself. She still almost told Shelby to go home and sleep when she saw her each morning. Kaylee worried for her...friend? Acquaintance? She wasn’t really sure what to call them. Kaylee worried for Shelby.

~~~~~

_**Android Ashely, I wish I were you. Instructions tell you what to do. And if you fail you can’t feel blue. Android Ashley when you’re good to go, maybe then at last I’ll know. How to fix the bugs in Ashley 1.0** _

Shelby told herself this was a good idea. Kaylee wouldn’t love her for just being herself surely, she needed to actually be able to speak to her, without, well, Shelby getting in the way of that. Once her robot had spoken to Kaylee, maybe then Shelby could have a go, after seeing how it’s done and not having her first impression being ‘hi I have no idea how to speak to people’. 

_**The final chip arrived today so I install it in the vacant port. I solder in the last connections hit the power switch and pray there’s not a short** _

Shelby stared at the robot in front of her. A perfect replica if she did say so herself. A perfect Shelby to speak to Kaylee. She prayed to herself that she’d engineered everything correctly before flipping the switch. 

_**She whirs to life her optic sensors turn my way, I wonder what they see** _

_**She holds out a hand to accept my command. I have made a brand new me** _

The robot Shelby had built worked perfectly, it was a perfect version of herself. Then why did she feel like something was missing? Something about the robot wasn’t right. The model itself was perfect, the coding and the circuits placed strategically. It was the best thing she’d ever built. And it was wrong. Everything about it was perfect but...wrong. _This is the best thing to do_ . She basically shouted at herself. Now was not the time to start getting doubt. _You’ve been doubting yourself since the beginning_. The voice in her head wasn’t wrong. Doesn’t mean she had to listen to it.

_**Android Ashely, I wish I were you. Instructions tell you what to do. And if you fail you can’t feel blue. Android Ashley when you’re good to go, maybe then at last I’ll know. How to fix the bugs in Ashley 1.0** _

Shelby looked at the screen beside her, an in time image of what Robot Shelby saw. She saw her own face, looking at the computers. A worried expression was etched onto her face, though she couldn’t work out what she was worried about. This was a good idea, this would be best. She punched commands into her keyboard and sent her robot on its way.

_**She walks up to the counter, run program talk to Kyle. Sub-routine order latte, call function wave and smile. Parse input, hey how are you? Play text to voice I’m fine. Parse input you seem different. And suddenly I see the flaw in my design** _

Shelby froze in her seat at the warehouse. She looked down at her doodle and sighed. _This was a terrible idea._ She looked at the screens, the confused look on Kaylee’s face as she realised something about Shelby was different. 

_**If I wrote this program perfectly I won’t need to make corrections. But if Kyle falls for robot me , he'll never love my imperfections** _

Shelby may have built the perfect version of herself; but that version wasn’t actually her. Kaylee might fall for Robot Shelby, but that thing’s not Shelby, just a fake version of her. **Step 7: Stop planning life in steps.** Shelby panicked, quickly shutting down the program and scrambling the get the robot back.

_**So I abort the program, and quickly call her back. I start the shutdown process but then she turns to me before the screen goes black** _

_**Human Ashley I wish I were you. No one can tell you what to do, the things you feel are real and true** _

Was- was her robot giving her advice? That wasn’t part of the program. Shelby turned her head, looking directly at her robot self, watching as the lights faded and wondering if maybe she’d reacted too quickly, maybe she should have left the robot with Kaylee longer.

_**Human Ashley do not envy me, you know all that life can be. I wish I knew how it feels to be so free** _

Shelby watched her robot shut down, confused as to whether she should feel sad or not. She did, in a way, but also felt relieved, she just needed to be herself. **Final step: Be yourself.** She took a deep breath, grabbed her drawing and headed to the coffee shop.

~~~~~

Something about Shelby was different that day. She was speaking clearly, she was stood up straight, not hunching, and maintaining eye contact. It unnerved Kaylee; Shelby had never acted so confident before. Not that she wouldn’t be happy if Shelby had suddenly become confident, but this just seemed wrong. She didn’t like it, it made her nervous and worried. 

“Wait-” Shelby said. “I have to go.” Kaylee stood, dumbfounded as Shelby ran out of the store without even collecting her coffee. _That was weird_. She thought, thinking over the event as she finished her shift.

~~~~~

_**So I see Kyle the barista at the coffee shop, he looks my way. I think you’re cute. My name is Ashley and I work at the computer store, I say** _

“Hey.” Shelby said, trying to keep the confidence she’d had five seconds ago, when she’d walked up to Kaylee and told her she’s cute. “I- my name’s Shelby.”

“Kaylee.” Kaylee smiled, watching Shelby quickly lose her confidence. That was the Shelby she was used to seeing. “Though you probably knew that since I see you here everyday.”

“I think you’re cute, would you like to go out sometime?” Shelby blurted, before cursing under her breath at her forwardness. Kaylee’s eyes widened and Shelby worried she’d blown her chance.

“I would love to.” She said, “but can I ask you something?”

Shelby nodded.

“What are you always drawing?”

Shelby carefully put the napkin on the table before shrinking slightly in her stance, her face going red. “Please don’t think I’m a creep.” She whispered. Kaylee looked at the napkin; a detailed drawing of herself was etched in a biro. She looked at Shelby. “This is beautiful.” She said, “I don’t think you’re creepy, you’re fucking talented though.”

“Thanks.” Shelby said, shrugging as if it was nothing. “So, can I see you later.”

“Of course.” Kaylee said, smiling like she always did. Only this time Shelby was able to smile back freely.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading. Find me on tumblr @we-do-be-writing-fics if you want to talk about the prom :P


End file.
